


Just me, him, and the moon.

by apolloxbvcky



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Badass Suki (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, Other, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Past Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but not really, they're all +18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:53:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27133459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apolloxbvcky/pseuds/apolloxbvcky
Summary: Sokka doesn’t hate a lot of things; he’s not that kind of guy. He wouldn’t say he is too positive, really, maybe that if he’s not interested, he just ignores it. But Sokka hates libraries. He hates them almost as much as his sister love them.Sokka meets Zuko at a library, and then everyone has to pretend they don't know who he really is.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Bato/Hakoda (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 242





	Just me, him, and the moon.

Sokka doesn’t hate a lot of things; he’s not that kind of guy. He wouldn’t say he is too positive, really, maybe that if he’s not interested, he just ignores it. But Sokka hates libraries. He hates them almost as much as his sister love them.

But he’d have been bored if he had stayed home with their parents, without Katara to annoy her, even if just for a few hours. And he knows if he wants to pass this year, he has to focus for more than five minutes on a row. So, when his little sister told him she was heading to the library, he didn’t think it twice before following her.

It’s been two hours since they arrived and he’s about to pull his own eyelashes out.

It took Katara exactly four minutes and twenty-five seconds to take her books out and start studying, and she still hasn’t taken a break longer than what it takes to take a sip of water. Meanwhile, Sokka has been looking at her for the last half an hour.

“Sokka,” she finally whispers, not looking up from her book. “if you’re not going to get any work done, then why are you here?”

“Were you really expecting me to just sit at home all day? With Pops watching that weird British TV show and Dad pretending he’s not falling asleep at it? I would’ve killed myself!”

“We’re in a library. Lower your voice.” She simply says, still not looking at her brother.

Sokka sighs, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed on his chest and pouting. He looks around, finding all the other students in the library in the same position as his sister. Apparently, he’s the only one who doesn’t know how to study for long periods of time. It’s a miracle he got to his third year.

After a few minutes, Katara stands up. Sokka looks at her, hopeful. “We’re leaving?”

“No. I just need to pee.” She smiles at him, closing her book and walking away from the table they’re sitting at.

Sokka groans this time, resting his forehead on his book. He’s not sure how long he stays like that, but he doesn’t move until he hears someone clearing their throat beside him.

“Excuse me,” a raspy voice says. Sokka raises his head on their direction. “is this seat taken?”

Sokka takes in the guy in front of him. He’s probably taller than him, skinny, with dark hair that almost reaches his shoulders, and pale skin. His eyes are golden, and he wears a dark red t-shirt and black skinny jeans. He has a black hoodie on his right hand and his red backpack hangs from one shoulder.

He also has a big scar covering the left side of his face, which Sokka thinks is badass. His first thought is to ask how he got it, but then he remembers he’s a stranger.

He doesn’t notice he’s staring until he sees the guy awkwardly changing his weight from one foot to the other, and a bit of red creeping on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Sokka quickly shakes his head and looks where the guy was pointing, the chair right beside Katara’s.

“Uh, no. No, it’s free for you to take it.” he says, smiling at the guy. He receives a soft smile in return.

While the guy takes all his stuff out his backpack, Sokka can’t help but look at him. He has probably noticed (because how couldn’t he, it’s not like Sokka’s being discreet about it.), but he doesn’t look back, which kind of bums Sokka out. He is cute, and Sokka loves attention, especially when it comes from cute people.

The guy, obviously, is going through his books, taking notes on a small pad and _still_ ignoring him. After a minute, Sokka stops looking at him and picks up a pencil, playing with it absentmindedly.

He doesn’t even notice he’s hitting the table with the pencil until the guy clears his throat, getting his attention.

“Could you stop doing that? It’s kind of annoying.”

“Sorry, man.” Sokka apologizes, dropping the pencil back in the table. The other guy goes back to his books, not even acknowledging his apology.

Sokka raises his eyebrows. This guy may be cute (very cute, honestly, he’s handsome), but he is kind of rude. Sokka doesn’t like rude people. It doesn’t matter if their hair is shiny and looks soft as hell. Or their golden eyes shine even in the darkness of the library at night.

He’s starting to wonder where the hell Katara is when the guy clears his throat again. Sokka looks at him, frowning.

“What?” he deadpans.

The guy raises his right eyebrow (his only one, really.) “You’re still doing it.” he says, as he points with his chin to Sokka’s hands. The latter looks down, only to see he has been drumming his fingers against the table without noticing.

“Huh.” He says, looking back at the other guy. “Sorry, dude. I didn’t notice.”

“Of course, you didn’t.” he replies, looking back to his book.

 _‘What the hell is wrong with this guy?_ ’ Sokka wonders. He looks to the front door, finally seeing Katara’s figure appearing through it. He can see her confusion when she notices a new person on their table, and, as she walks closer, her shock.

“Hi.” She whispers when she gets to the table.

“Took you long enough.” Sokka says. Katara frowns at him.

“Shut up.” she says, as she starts picking up her stuff. “I’m ready to leave.” She states.

“Finally!” Sokka exclaims, getting himself another dirty look from the dark-haired guy. When he turns back to his book, though, Sokka sticks his tongue out at him. He can see Katara rolling her eyes from where she’s standing.

The siblings pick up their stuff, and before they leave, Sokka looks at the guy one last time. He may be rude, but Sokka feels the need to see his face again.

“Bye.” He says, when Katara has already started walking away. The other guy doesn’t say anything, so he follows his sister.

Once they’re on the subway headed home, and Sokka is playing one of his games on his phone, Katara elbows his ribs.

“Ouch! Why did you do that?” he says, running his hand through the damaged spot.

“When did that guy arrive?” she asks him.

“Who?” he frowns, looking around the car.

“Not here, dummy. Back in the library.”

“Oh, Scar-face? Like, two seconds after you left for the bathroom. Why?” he answers, looking back at his phone.

Katara raises her eyebrows. “You really don’t know who he is, do you?”

“Why should I?” he wonders, raising his left eyebrow.

“He’s Zuko Feu. The son of Ozai Feu? His family is one of the richest families on the country, Sokka. They own like, eighty percent of the biggest enterprises in the world.”

“Well, good for him! What did you want me to do?” Sokka asks, exasperated. He’s losing his game!

“Nothing! I just wonder what he’s doing here.” She answers, crossing her arms on her chest.

“Uhm, getting a degree, I’d say. He was there studying, you know?”

“In our town? When his family could send him to literally any elite university in the world?”

Sokka sighs, annoyed. “Well, why don’t you ask him next time you see him, huh?”

Katara scoffs, rolling her eyes. “You’re so mean sometimes, Sokka.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

There’s five minutes of silence between them, and then Katara talks again.

“Sokka?”

“Tui and La, Katara, what!?”

“Where’s your backpack?”

Sokka looks around, trying to locate his backpack, which is nowhere. He facepalms himself. “Dang. I left it at the library.”

Katara laughs, as his brother sits beside her with arms crossed and an annoyed face.

Once home, they sit at the table, one in front of the other, their father and stepfather on their sides, also in front of each other.

“So, was going to the library helpful, Katara?” Hakoda asks, filling her glass with water.

“In fact, yes, it was. I found a very helpful book for my next exam there. I might go back to check it out. We left earlier than I wanted to, though.” She says, bummed out.

“We left because you wanted to!” Sokka complains. Bato puts his hand on the young man’s shoulder.

“Not yelling in the house, remember?”

“Sorry, Pops.” He nods. Bato nods at him.

“Why did you leave, then?” Hakoda asks.

Katara blushes a little. “I-uh. You don’t want to know. It was girls stuff.”

Sokka chokes on his water, as Hakoda and Bato look at him amused. “Oogie, Katara!” he says, in a squeaky voice.

Hakoda raises his eyebrows. “I thought ‘oogie’ was exclusively for the stuff she does when she is with Aang.”

“It’s for any time I have to see or hear something an older brother shouldn’t see or hear.” Hakoda and Bato laugh.

“Oh, come on, Sokka. Like you never bought Yue or Suki tampons or something.” Katara says, rolling her eyes.

“I didn’t! That’s girls stuff, you said it yourself!”

Bato laughs, looking at his stepson, while Hakoda shakes his head.

“Anyway, that was not the only reason.” Katara says.

Sokka points at her. “Don’t tell me Scar-face intimidated you.”

“He did not. But I knew if we had stayed, you’d have embarrassed both of us. And I was not in the mood for that, at all.”

“Who’s Scar-face?” Hakoda asks. Sokka shrugs.

“Some rich kid who came to the library and sat at our table. He’s super rude and obnoxious, by the way.”

“I’m pretty sure you got him to be rude and obnoxious, somehow.” His sister says, shaking her head. Then, she looks at their father. “It’s Zuko Feu. He’s enrolled at our University, apparently.”

“Feu? As in Ozai Feu?” Bato asks. Katara nods. “Huh, that’s weird. What’s Ozai Feu’s kid studying here? Shouldn’t he be in Harvard or some other school we can’t even imagine affording?”

Sokka laughs at his stepfather’s joke, fist bumping him.

“I think I heard Ozai disowned him. Maybe it’s all he _can_ afford now.” Hakoda says, making his husband and son stop laughing.

Everyone in the table turns to look at him. Hakoda’s face seems a mixture of sad and furious. Sokka doesn’t know what to think of it.

“Maybe next time you see him, you should try to make talk with him.” he suggests. “He’s probably new to the city. He will appreciate having friends.”

Sokka and Katara look at each other, and nod. “We will, Dad.” Sokka promises, and Katara takes Hakoda’s hand in hers.

“Oh, by the way.” Katara says. “Sokka lost his backpack.”

“Sokka!” Hakoda reprimands him, at the same time Bato widens his eyes at him and asks “Again?!”

Sokka looks between his parents and gulps. “No yelling in the house!”

The following day, Sokka goes back to the library as soon as it opens with his best friend, Suki.

“I can’t believe you forgot your backpack again.” She says as they climb the stairs to the floor he and his sister were in the previous day.

“I know, I know, I’m a disaster and _so_ irresponsible. I’ve been like this for twenty-one years; you all should already know that.”

“We know. And we love you for it!” She assures him. He turns back to look at her and sticks his tongue out.

They reach the table Katara and him used the day before, only to find it empty. Sokka frowns, walking around the table.

“It should be here. This is the table we were in and I didn’t move until we left.” He looks at Suki, who’s already looking at him. “Someone probably stole it. Great.” He says, kicking one of the chairs.

“Calm down, Sokka, it’s okay. We should check lost and found.” She says, walking to him and placing her hands on his shoulders.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just all my books are in there and my parents can’t really afford to buy new ones, you know?” he sighs. She smiles softly at him.

“I know. Don’t worry, we’ll come up with something.” She kisses his cheek. Sokka gives her a small smile and nods.

They do check lost and found, but there’s nothing there either. They’re leaving the library, Sokka already practicing in his mind how to tell his parents he has definitely lost his backpack and all his contents, when he bumps shoulders with someone else.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you.” he says, looking up. He widens his eyes when he recognizes Zuko Feu.

“No, it’s okay. I was looking at my phone, anyway.” He says, rising his right hand, where his phone is. “You were the guy sitting in my table yesterday, right?” Sokka nods. “You left your backpack here.” He says, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. “I… I took it.”

Sokka’s eyes widen, and his mouth opens. “You what!? Dude, I’ve been looking everywhere for it!”

“Sokka, calm down.” Suki says, softly, placing her hand on his forearm.

Zuko gulps. “I was hoping there’d be some ID on it, but I guess you took it with you… I just didn’t know what to do, so I took it home.”

“You could have just let it in lost and found!” Sokka groans.

“Sokka, come on, he has a perfectly good reason for having taken it.” Suki says, and though he’s not looking, Sokka knows she’s rolling her eyes. “Forgive him, he can be a butthead sometimes. Thank you, uh…”

“Lee. My name is Lee.” The guy says, offering Suki his hand. She shakes it, while Sokka looks at him frowning. Wasn’t his name Zuko? Maybe Katara was wrong. Maybe he isn’t Ozai Feu’s son. Just a regular jerk. “It’s alright. I can meet up with you later and give it to you. Do you know where the Jasmine Dragon is?” he says, looking at Sokka now.

“The tea shop? Uh, yeah, I think I went there with my sister’s boyfriend once.”

“I work there. If you have any free time this evening you can go there. I get off at half past nine.” Sokka nods and Lee mimics him. “See you there, then.”

“Yeah. See you.”

Lee waves at them and enters the library. Suki palms Sokka’s shoulder.

“Sokka. He’s. So. Hot.” She says. Sokka raises an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you break up with me because you realized you didn’t like boys?”

“Sokka, I’m gay, not blind. But it doesn’t matter, even Toph, who is gay _and_ _blind_ , would think he’s hot.”

“How would she even know?” Sokka says, rolling his eyes and starting to climb down the stairs outside the building.

“She would. She’s Toph. The thing is, he’s really hot, and he was flirting with you!” she says, following him.

“What? No, he wasn’t!” Sokka says, taking her hand. Suki laces their fingers together.

“He told you the exact time he gets off. He wants you to go there like, five minutes before so you can take him out. Believe me, I know how these things work.”

“He doesn’t like me, believe me. I annoyed him yesterday, or something.”

Suki rolls her eyes. “You annoy me all the time, and we still…”

“We still what?” Sokka says, smiling.

Suki punches his arm. “I’m not going to say it, so cut it off. And stop trying to diverge the conversation! You should ask him out tonight. Believe me, he will say yes.”

“Wanna bet on that?”

“Oh, you’re on.”

They go back to Sokka’s house, where they find Katara and Aang on the couch, watching an animated movie.

As soon as she hears the front door click, Katara, who is resting her head on Aang’s chest while he runs his fingers through her hair (she usually wears it braided, so Sokka doesn’t want to know why she’s wearing it down now – just in case), turns to look at them.

“Any luck?” she asks.

Sokka and Suki walk towards the other side of the couch, Sokka sitting beside his sister with Suki on his lap.

“Yeah. Scar-face has it.”

Suki looks down at him. “That’s incredibly mean, Sokka.”

“Well, he was incredibly mean last night. I don’t know what came over him today. He was acting like an entirely different person.”

“You’ve had two conversations with the guy, you don’t even know what he’s like.” Katara says. Sokka rolls his eyes.

“Anyway, I’m meeting him at this place where he works this evening to get it.”

“Work?” Katara frowns. “Zuko Feu has a job?”

“Zuko Feu?” Aang asks. “You guys know him?”

“I don’t think he’s who you think he is, sis.” Sokka says. “He said his name was Lee.”

“Sokka, it is him. Google him if you don’t believe me.” She says.

Sokka sighs, taking out his phone. He googles Zuko Feu and taps on ‘Images’. A bunch of pictures of a kid, not older than twelve, pop up first. His hair is the same color, and so are his eyes, but Lee is probably Sokka’s age, if not older, so a picture of a twelve-year-old isn’t all that helpful. He scrolls down, trying to find a more recent picture, but they all are from his early years. The most recent he can get is of a fourteen-year-old, at most. But then, something new appears in front of him. It’s a picture taken by a paparazzi, probably, outside an airport, from afar, and the guy’s wearing his hair down and sunglasses, but you can still see the red scar that covers half his face. It’s hard to miss, really. Beside him, a much shorter man (he only reaches Zuko’s shoulders) is talking to him. They’re both wearing black clothes and have big suitcases with them. They don’t look happy, either, but Sokka figures whatever flight they just took must have tired them out.

“Maybe he lied to us.” Suki, who had been watching from above his shoulder, suggests, tangling Sokka’s wolftail around her index finger. “I heard on the news his dad disowned him, right? So maybe he doesn’t want anyone to know who he really is.”

Aang nods. “If the media knew he’s here, they wouldn’t leave him alone. He must be living under a fake identity. That’s so cool.”

Katara shakes her head. “You watch too much TV, sweetie.”

“Oogie, Katara.” Sokka says. Her sister kicks his shin.

“Your hand is basically on Suki’s ass. Don’t you dare ‘oogie’ me.” She protests.

“She’s a homosexual, Katara!” Sokka responds, making Suki and Aang laugh.

Katara offered Sokka to come with him to retrieve the backpack, but he said no. Why, exactly? Well, he’s not sure, to be honest. He just didn’t want her to come.

When he arrives to the shop, he notices it’s empty, except for Zuko, who is behind the bar, and the short man he saw on the airport picture, who is sweeping the floor.

He knocks on the glass door, and the short man points to the sign that clearly says ‘closed’. Sokka looks at Zuko, who says something to the short man and goes to get the door.

“Hi, sorry. Uncle didn’t know you were coming. Get in.” he says, stepping aside to let Sokka inside the building.

“It’s okay. Hi.” He waves to the short man. “I’m Sokka.”

“Nice to meet you, Sokka. I’m…”

“Uncle. He’s Uncle.” Zuko interrupts. Sokka frowns, looking at him.

“Interesting name. Won’t be hard to remember.” He jokes.

Zuko looks away, to his left, and Sokka can see a little blush creeping up his cheeks.

“So, Sokka.” Uncle starts talking, as he starts sweeping the floor again. “Are you friends with my nephew?”

“Uhm.” Sokka says. “We happened… to be at the same place yesterday, and I forgot something, and he has it. So, here I am. For my thing.” He says the last sentence looking at Zuko, who, to his surprise, was already looking at him.

He clears his throat. “Right. Sorry. Uh, wait here?” he says, the nods, mostly to himself.

Zuko walks behind the bar, through a door that must lead to the kitchen. Uncle keeps sweeping the floor, so Sokka is left there, standing in the middle of the tea shop, uneasy.

“Are you from the town, Sokka?” Uncle asks. Sokka looks at him and clears his throat.

“Not really. I was born on the south. We moved here after my mother died, a few years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The old man says, looking at him. Sokka gives him a soft smile.

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. I’ve made my peace with it. Plus, my father remarried pretty soon, so it’s not like I’ve ever felt any kind of absence.”

“That’s great to hear, then.”

Sokka nods, and then gulps. “Are… you? From here, I mean.”

Uncle shakes his head. “No. We moved here six months ago, actually. It’s nice to see my nephew finally making acquaintance with someone his age.” He smiles. “He’s been so lonely since we got here.”

Sokka chews on his lower lip. Well, now he feels bad. Maybe he should listen to Suki and try to take Zuko out… as friends. Totally platonic. Obviously.

It’s already nine thirty, so his shift has ended, after all, right?

While Sokka is still making up his mind, Zuko shows up from the same door he left, Sokka’s backpack in hand.

He walks up to him and hands it to Sokka. “Here it is. I didn’t steal anything, I promise. Everything is there, up to the last penny.”

Sokka smiles, taking it and putting it on his back. “Thanks, man. I owe you one.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

They stare at each other in silence. Sokka’s not really sure what he should say or do. He sighs, looking around, and snaps his fingers twice.

“Uh… You…” he clears his throat. “Your shift already ended, right?” he asks.

Zuko seems surprised. He frowns, and nods. “I still have to count the cash, though.”

“Oh. Well, I was wondering, maybe, if you haven’t already… we could go have dinner? There’s a nice restaurant near here.”

“Well, I can… do it really quick and…”

“Nonsense, nephew.” Uncle says. The two young men look at him. “You go with your friend and have fun. I’m perfectly capable of counting that cash himself. I’m not that old, and I have a calculator app on my phone!”

“A-are you sure, Uncle?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind waiting. Or rescheduling.” Sokka says.

Uncle rolls his eyes and shakes his broom in their direction. “Go, before I hit you both with this.”

Sokka looks at Zuko, eyes widened. The dark-haired shakes his head and takes Sokka’s shoulders, guiding him to the door.

“Fine, Uncle, we’re leaving.” He says. “But if you need anything, you call me right away, okay?”

“Of course, my nephew. Now go and have fun.” He says, waving at them.

Once they’re outside the shop, Zuko turns to look at him. “I’m sorry. He can be stubborn sometimes.”

“It’s okay. All old people are. My GranGran is like that, too, sometimes. And don’t make me start on her husband.” He says, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms on his chest. Then, he notices something. “Uh, Lee? Aren’t you forgetting something?” The other guy looks at him, frowning and tilting his head to the side. Sokka smiles. “You’re still wearing your apron.”

Zuko blushes a little and walks inside the tea shop again. Sokka waits outside with his back against the wall and his hands on the pockets of his jeans. When Zuko comes back, he’s not only taken off his apron, but put on a bright red hoodie, matching his red sneakers. Sokka smiles.

“You look good.” He compliments him. Zuko blushes.

“Thanks. You, too.”

Sokka chuckles and starts walking. The other boy matches his steps.

“So,” Sokka starts. “Lee. Your uncle said you’re new to town?” he says. Zuko nods.

“We moved here six months ago.”

“Can I ask why?”

Zuko frowns. “You’ve already asked. Uh, we both needed a… change of scenery, one might say.”

“Fair enough. Do you like it?”

“I haven’t really seen much. But, so far, so good.” Zuko says, shrugging. Sokka notices he’s put his hands in the big pocket of his hoodie.

“That’s cool. I’ve lived here for a few years now and I’m still finding new stuff, so don’t let that bother you.”

Zuko looks at him. “Where… did you live before?”

Sokka smiles. “South. A small village you won’t know the name of. But we came here because… we needed a change of scenery, one might say.” Zuko frowns and looks down to his feet. “You’re in Uni, right?”

“Yes. You?”

“Yep. Naval Engineering.”

“History.” Sokka nods.

“What year are you on?”

“Senior. I’m graduating in June.”

“So you’re a year older than me. Cool. Do you know what you want to do after school?”

“No. Not really. I’ll keep helping Uncle at the shop and then. I don’t know.”

“That’s cool. You’re still young, my boy.”

Zuko frowns at him. Sokka ignores him and keeps walking.

After a while, the older clears his throat. “You have a pretty girlfriend.”

“Huh?” Sokka says, looking at him.

“The girl with you, this morning. She’s pretty.”

“Suki?” he says, then laughs. “She’s not my girlfriend. I mean, she was, but we were, like, fifteen, and she realized she didn’t like me like that. Or any other guy, for that matter; so we broke up. But we’re best friends now!”

“Oh.” Zuko simply replies.

“It was good that we broke up, though. I met Yue after that.”

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“Not anymore. She’s gone.” Sokka says, shrugging.

Zuko stops walking and looks at him. He gapes at him and then clears his throat.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Sokka’s eyes widen. “Not gone like _that_! Tui and La, she left town to go to Yale.”

Zuko frowns again (Sokka’s starting to notice he does that a lot). “That’s… rough, buddy.”

Sokka laughs, and they start walking again.

“So. Do _you_ have a girlfriend?” Sokka asks.

Zuko blushes. He shakes his head. “No. Not anymore.”

“You had one back home?”

He nods. “Her name is Mai. She’s… really pretty. Tough. Rude, sometimes. But not with me, usually. Just angsty.”

“Sounds like a nice girl.” Sokka says, sarcastically. Zuko shrugs. “Anyway. We’re here.” He announces. “You’re not vegetarian, are you?”

Zuko shakes his head. “I like meat.”

“Great. Let’s go, then. You’re gonna love it.”

They get inside and sit in a table near the window. Sokka takes a menu and gives it to him.

“What about you?” Sokka smiles.

“I know the menu by heart. Don’t worry, just choose.”

Zuko nods, carefully reading the menu. Sokka’s phone starts ringing. He picks it up, looking at the caller ID. It’s Katara.

“Sorry, I have to take this.” Zuko nods, and Sokka stands up and walks outside the restaurant.

“What do you want, Katara?” he says when he picks up.

“Bato wants to know if you’re coming for dinner.” she says. Sokka can hear the rolling in her eyes.

“No. I’m actually at a restaurant.”

“You could’ve given us a heads up.” she complains. Sokka sighs.

“Sorry. It was kind of impromptu. Tell Pops I’ll make dinner tomorrow to compensate it.”

He listens to Katara tell their stepfather, and his laugh. “He says thank you, but no thank you. He had enough food poisoning with last month’s. Just tell us next time you have impromptu dates with rich kids.”

“It’s not a date!” he says, but his sister has already hung up.

Putting his phone back on his pocket, he gets inside the restaurant again. Zuko isn’t reading the menu anymore, rather playing with his thumbs.

“Have you decided yet?”

Zuko looks at him. “I’ll order what you order.”

Sokka nods. “Okay. But I eat a lot. Like, a lot. Just so you know.”

“It’s okay.” the older boy replies.

“Fine, then.” He winks at him, raising his arm to call one of the waiters.

After their dinner, Sokka walks Zuko back to the Jasmine Dragon. They stop by the glass door, the older turning to look at him.

“Did you have fun?” he asks. Sokka smiles softly and nods.

“Yeah. I did. Maybe we can hang out some other day again.”

Zuko’s face glows as he smiles. “Sure. Yes. I… I’d like that.”

“Great!” Sokka’s smile widens. “Oh, by the way? We should totally exchange numbers.”

Zuko nods, taking his phone out of the pocket of his hoodie.

“Here.” He says, offering it to Sokka. Sokka quickly add his numer to Zuko’s contacts, and texts himself. Then, he fishes his own phone out of his pocket and opens the text.

“So, how do you spell your name?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“L-e-e.” Zuko spells. Sokka nods, not letting the other see his disappointed face. He really though he had caught him with his guard down.

“Okay.” he says, putting his phone on his pocket again. “I’ll text you. But if you ever want to text me before I do, you’re totally welcome to. Even if ‘before’ means just as I walk away.” He says, crossing his arms on his chest. “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home?”

“Uncle and I live upstairs. And I can take care of myself.” Zuko says, raising his eyebrow.

“Okay, big guy. Then I think this is my cue to leave. I’ll see you around, alright?”

Zuko nods as he looks at Sokka. For a moment it looks like he is about to hug him. But then he waves and walks inside the tea shop.

Sokka chuckles and shakes his head. He’s on his way to the subway station when his phone pings.

_“Hi. : )”_

It’s from Zuko. Sokka chuckles again. He can’t believe he thought Zuko was mean just a few hours before.

Later that night, already home, Sokka is laying on his bed, still texting with Zuko (and isn’t he so cute, trying to figure out what Sokka’s texting slang means), when Katara knocks at his doorframe. The oldest sibling looks at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Can I stay here for a while?” she asks – which means she’s bored and just wants to talk.

Sokka puts his phone down as Katara walks towards the bed and lays on it, facing down but looking at his brother, who starts playing with her hair.

“How was your date?” she asks.

“It wasn’t a date, just a friendly meet up.” he replies. Then, he smiles. “But it was nice. Zuko is a good guy. He still wants me to call him Lee, though. And he introduced me to his uncle. Well, maybe it’s not really his uncle, but you know.”

“You think he might be like a bodyguard or something?” Katara asks. Her brother laughs.

“I don’t think so. He’s a short old man who makes tea. And he looks like he wouldn’t hurt a fly, too.” Katara hums. Sokka curls his sister’s hair around his index finger. “We exchanged numbers though. And we’ve been texting. He’s clueless, in a cute way. I don’t think he texts a lot.”

“Well, now he has you to practice. And somehow I can tell you’re going to practice a lot.”

Sokka shrugs. “Yeah… who knows.” He says, running his fingers through her hair.

Next time Zuko and Sokka see each other, it’s once again at the Jasmine Dragon.

It’s not that Sokka was expecting to see him there, or that they had decided to meet up – but Aang said he wanted to go there, so who was Sokka to say no to his beloved friend?

When they get to the shop, it’s Uncle who receives them.

“Aang!” he says when he walks to their table. “My favorite costumer, how have you been? We missed you around here.”

“Hi, Mushi! I’m good, just swamped in exams, you know how it is.” the younger says, smiling.

“Of course, of course. My nephew is the same this time of the year.” He says, smiling, and turns to look at Sokka. “Hello, Sokka. I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

“Yeah, he’s…” Sokka starts talking, but is interrupted.

“His brother in law!” Aang says smiling. Sokka looks at him, raising his eyes.

“No.” he deadpans.

“Not yet, you mean!” Aang smiles.

Sokka sighs, looking back at Uncle. “He’s dating my sister.”

“Have for six years now, Sokka. It’s time you accept it.” he punches his arm. Sokka shakes his head and looks at Uncle, who’s looking back at them, amused.

“Well, anyone would be lucky to have Aang as family, the way I see it.” he claims. “So, tell me, what will it be?”

“You know my usual.” Aang says, and Uncle nods. Sokka, on the contrary, looks at the menu displayed on top of the bar.

“Uh… I don’t know. I’m not a tea connoisseur.” He shrugs. “So… bring me another one of what Aang ordered.”

“Great!” Uncle says. Sokka notices he didn’t write anything on his notepad. “I’ll bring you guys your drinks back.”

“Thank you!” Aang says, as Uncle leaves.

Sokka looks at him. “Why did you say that?” he asks him.

“Why did I say what?” the younger asks, tilting his head in confusion.

“The brother in law thing. Do you genuinely think you and Katara are going to get married?”

Aang’s permanent smile widens. “Of course. She’s the love of my life. I’d have married her the day I met her. We have already talked about it, even. We’re waiting until after both of us graduate.” Sokka smiles softly.

“I’m glad you’re the love of her life, too.” He says. Aang punches him in the arm again. “Ow. You need to stop hanging out with Toph.” He says, as he rubs the assaulted area.

A few minutes later, it’s Zuko who brings their drinks, and although he tried to hide it, he almost dropped them when he saw Sokka sitting at the table.

“Hi. These are your drinks. Uncle said to give him a review later, please.” He says, as he places them in the table.

“Thanks, Hotman!” Aang says, making Zuko blush. Sokka chuckles.

“Thank you, Lee.” He says. Zuko nods and turns back, walking away. Sokka follows him with his eyes.

“Aw.” Aang says. Sokka turns to look at him.

“What?” Aang wiggles his eyebrows at him. “No. It’s not like that, Aang.”

“Not yet?”

“No. I don’t know!” he sighs.

Aang smiles as he drinks from his cup. Sokka looks at him.

“What even is this?” he asks, smelling it.

“I don’t know. Mushi likes doing new recipes and I like trying them out. It tastes good, though. I think you’ll like it.”

Sokka takes a deep breath and takes a sip. He’s not a tea guy, but it’s sugary, so it’s drinkable. He looks at his sister’s boyfriend again. “So, you’re like a regular here, right?”

“Yeah, I love this place.”

“And you’ve never brought Katara here?”

“Nah, I usually come with Toph. You know Katara likes coffee.”

“And you never told her about, uh, you know.” he says, pointing with his chin to the door through Zuko tends to disappear.

“I didn’t even know until she told me. For me he was just Mushi’s nephew. I didn’t even know his fake name. He never told me, not even when I introduced myself.”

“Yeah, he’s kind of socially awkward... Do you think Uncle’s name really is Mushi?” Aang laughs.

“Nah, but it’d be cool if it were. Do you like the tea?” Sokka nods. “Cool. Mushi will be happy. Maybe he’ll let you name it!”

“He does that?” Sokka asks, frowning.

“Sometimes! He’s a cool guy. Toph and him get along really good, you know?”

“Weirdly, that doesn’t surprise me at all.” He says, and Aang giggles.

When they decide to leave, Aang and him walk to the bar to pay for their teas. Uncle is behind the cash register.

“The tea was great, Mushi!” Aang says. Sokka simply smiles and nods.

“I’m glad you guys liked it!” he says. “For your bravery, I’ll add a discount. It’ll be $3 for the two of them.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Aang says, taking out his wallet.

“Sokka, why don’t you go behind with my nephew for a moment? I have something to discuss with Aang.” Uncle says.

“With me?” Aang asks confused.

“Of course!” Uncle smiles, waving Sokka away.

Sokka frowns confused but does as he’s told. On the other side of the door is the kitchen, where Zuko is sitting in a table with a few books opened along it. He’s focused on them, taking notes on a small notebook on his right. He doesn’t turn to look at Sokka, either because he is too focused or because he thinks it’s his uncle. Sokka smiles to himself and leans against one of the walls.

“Well, look at you all focused on your History.” He says. Zuko snaps his head towards him, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Sokka.” He says. “You can’t be here. Uncle will get pissed.”

Sokka rolls his eyes as he walks towards him. “He was the one who told me to come here. Said he had to say something to Aang.”

“Aang. The boy you came with?” Sokka nods. “He comes here a lot. With a girl. She’s blind.”

“I know her. Toph. Pretty cool, isn’t she?”

“She punched me once.” Zuko says. Sokka laughs.

“She tends to. It’s her way to show you she likes you.”

Zuko hums. Sokka stares at him. He’s playing with the end of his apron, probably nervous. The younger boy smiles. “He’s my sister’s boyfriend. Remember her? She was with me when we met.”

Zuko looks at him and nods. “She has a long braid. And beads on the front.”

“Yeah, that’s the one. Her name is Katara.”

“All your family members have a K on their name?”

Sokka laughs. He wants to tell him he has a K on his name as well, but for some reason, he wants to wait for him to tell him his real name.

“Uh, actually, yeah. I’m Sokka and my sister is Katara, as you know. My dad is Hakoda, and my mom was Kya.”

“Was?” Zuko frowns.

Sokka looks down to his feet. “She passed away when I was a kid.”

Zuko doesn’t say anything for a while. Then: “My mom disappeared when I was a kid.” Sokka raises an eyebrow and looks at him. “Then when I was thirteen, her new husband sent me a letter and told me she had died. And I have a sister. Uhm, another one.”

Sokka doesn’t say anything. He just looks at the wall behind Zuko. Then, he tsks and walks towards him, putting his arms around Zuko’s body. After a few seconds, Zuko does the same.

When they break apart, Sokka ruffles Zuko’s hair, which earns him a frown. He smiles. “So, how long have you known Aang for?”

“Since we opened the shop. He comes by every week.” Zuko says, running his fingers through his hair, trying to make it look good again.

“He and your uncle seem like they’re good friends.”

“Uncle adores him. He and Toph are his favorites customers.” There’s a beat of silence. “Is it weird that he reminds me of a grandfather?”

Sokka laughs, looking at his friend. “No, not at all. Sometimes it feels like he’s 100 years old.”

It’s only a few days later that Sokka is sitting at the hall of the dojo Suki works at, scrolling through his phone until her shift ends.

He only notices her in front of him because she kicks his shin.

“Hey!” he complains, rubbing his leg. Suki is standing there, arms crossed on her chest and her eyebrow raised.

“Hey, honey.” She says. “Are you ready to go?”

Sokka stands up. “If I can walk, maybe!” he says.

“Don’t be a pussy.” She rolls her eyes.

“That’s inappropriate. You of all people should know that. You have one.”

Suki laughs, holding his arm to walk together. “You’re hilarious, Sok.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not letting you use the same name you use for a piece of clothing to call me.”

“You don’t tell me what I can or can’t do.”

“Suki!” he yells. His friend laughs.

“I’m kidding, I know. I won’t call you that. Only when I’m mad.”

Sokka sighs and keeps walking. Suki puts her head on his shoulder.

“Something is bothering you.” she says. “I can see your brain burning by the second.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Sokka, come on. It’s just me!”

The boy sighs, but doesn’t look at her. “Don’t laugh at me, okay?”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“Yeah, sure.” he sighs again. “How do you know if someone is gay?”

“What?” Suki says, and laughs.

“You weren’t going to laugh!”

“I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting… that.”

“Ugh. Forget it. It’s not that important.”

“No, Sokka. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.” She kisses his cheek. “I don’t know. I mean, look at us. I realized while dating you, and you found out… how did you realize?”

“I didn’t. I had always known. I was raised by a straight couple first and then by two men, and when thinking about my future in that way, I always saw two possibilities, because it was normal for me. It’s just that I didn’t know how to call it, until Katara asked Dad why he had been with Mom first and then with Bato.”

“Huh. You had never told me that.”

“I’m telling you now.” He shrugs.

“I guess this question is because of a certain someone?”

“Yeah. I mean. We’ve been talking non-stop for a while now. And he’s always blushing when I’m around, but I don’t know if he’s just shy or…” Sokka shakes his head.

“Yeah, I understand.”

“That’s why it’s so hard, you know! I’m confident in my sexuality, I always have, but I don’t know about him, so if I try to do something and he doesn’t feel the same… maybe he won’t even want to see me anymore!”

Suki tightens the grab on his arm. “Sokka. Calm down. Take a breath, alright?” Sokka does as told, closing his eyes as he inhales. “Good. Now, first things first. Do you like him?”

“I’m not sure yet. But I think it’s getting closer to a yes.”

“Aw, Sokka!”

“Suki, no.”

“But it’s your first real male crush! This is such a step for you. I’m so proud.”

Sokka sighs, rolling his eyes. “Anyway. It’s whatever. I’m not going to do anything until I know he likes men. For sure.”

“That’s fine. Personally, I think everyone likes sarcastic and smart guys.”

“You broke up with me, Suki.”

“Oh, come on.” She says, waving her hand. “We’re basically still dating. Minus the kisses.”

“I can’t say you’re wrong.”

Next time Sokka sees Zuko, Toph is with him. Now, why someone who hates libraries would be there with someone who is blind is actually more reasonable than one might think.

Toph wanted to meet Zuko officially. Of course, they had exchanged a few words before in the Jasmine Dragon; and she had heard Uncle talk about him a lot, but she wanted to meet him “for real”.

They had gone to the tea shop first, obviously, but Zuko wasn’t there, so Uncle, ever so helpful, had given them his location. And Toph had basically dragged Sokka there.

They had found him in a table near the History books section – obviously, and they were hiding behind one of the bookcases.

“What am I supposed to say to him? If I tell him I came here to look for him he’s going to think I’m crazy.” Sokka whispers to Toph.

“Oh, come on, own up to it!”

“But why!? You were the one who wanted to come here!”

“So? You’re the one dating him.”

“We’re not dating.” Sokka says, rolling his eyes.

“Sure, whatever you say, Snoozles. Come on, just sit there and make small talk with him!”

Sokka groans, turning to look at Zuko. He’s submerged on his books, not paying attention to the world. ‘Okay’ he thinks ‘we’re friends. Friends talk to each other. This is normal. It’s fine. You can do it, Sokka.’

So, he walks towards Zuko, whose table is empty besides him, and sits in front of him. Toph follows him and sits beside him.

Zuko raises his head to look at him and frowns. “Sokka.” Sokka waves at him, smiling. “What are you doing here?” he whispers.

“We were looking for you. Uncle told us you were here.”

“Uh.” He looks at him, then at Toph, who is looking towards his general direction.

“This is Toph, by the way.” He says. “I think you kind of already know her, though.” Zuko nods.

“Hello.” He says. “I like your glasses.”

Toph smiles, holding the arm of her heart shaped red glasses. “Thanks. It was a gift from Sokka’s ex.”

Sokka frowns at her, even knowing she can’t see her. Zuko rubs the back of his neck.

“She just wanted to get to know you. Since we’ve been spending so much time together, you know. And she’s impatient” he raises his voice “and annoying. I know you’re studying now and all but…”

“No, it can. Uh, it can wait.” Zuko says, closing his book and smiling at Sokka. Sokka smiles back.

“Good. Great. Uh, there’s this nice coffee shop right around the corner, in case you guys want to go there?”

Zuko smiles, as Toph shrugs. “As long as there’s tea.” She says.

During their tea date, Toph asks Zuko a lot of questions. A lot. At first, Sokka kicks her in the shin to get her to shut up, but he stoppes after she kicks him even harder twice. So he tries to change subjects constantly, which makes Toph sigh every time.

“I’m just trying to get to know your friend, Sokka!”

“You’re making him uncomfortable, Toph!”

“Well, tough luck!”

“Don’t be rude!”

“Don’t be a pain in the ass!”

“Guys?” Zuko says, softly.

“Not now, Lee.” Sokka says, not looking away from Toph.

“Everybody’s looking at us.” Zuko whispers. Sokka looks at him, and then at the rest of the shop. He’s right. Everybody is looking at them.

Clearing his throat, he turns back and looks at Zuko. “Sorry. I- that probably made you even more uncomfortable. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Zuko smiles. “It’s okay, Sokka.”

Toph punches Sokka’s arm. “Ow!” he complains, rubbing the assaulted zone.

Zuko and Sokka walk Toph home, and then they walk back to the Jasmine Dragon.

“Your friend is… interesting.” Zuko says.

Sokka laughs, nodding. “Yeah. She always has been. But she’s a great friend. She liked you, you know?”

Zuko smiles. “That’s good.”

“Yeah. Uhm, I guess you’ve met all my friends now. That’s cool too.”

“What about Yue?” Zuko asks. Sokka bits his lip.

“Yue’s… not coming back in a long time, so.”

“Huh. That must be hard for you.”

“I don’t know. I mean, I miss her, and I love her – I think it’s something I’ll always do. But I don’t miss our relationship. Just… her.” Zuko doesn’t answer. “Do you miss your ex-girlfriend? Mai?”

“Sometimes. But… just as you. I miss her, not our relationship. Plus, I heard she’s with someone else now.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Sokka says, looking at him. Zuko shakes his head.

“I’m glad she is. She deserves to be happy.”

Sokka smiles and puts his arm around Zuko’s shoulders. “Well, we’ll just have to keep being single men together.”

Zuko nods. “Yeah. We’ll just have to.”

They stare at each other for a few seconds, smiling, and then Zuko talks again. “Do you want to come upstairs? You can stay for dinner. Uncle won’t mind.”

Sokka bites his lower lip, then nods. “Sure. I’d love to.”

They get inside the shop and walk through it. At the back, right beside the bathrooms, there’s a third door with a ‘staff only’ sign. Zuko takes a little key out of his pocket and opens it. There’s a stair on the other side, which they climb, up to Zuko’s living room.

“Uncle, I’m back! Sokka’s here too!” Zuko yells. Uncle’s voice comes from somewhere in the small apartment: “Okay!”

Zuko looks back to Sokka. “Come.” He simply says.

Zuko leads his friend through the hall and to his bedroom.

It’s a small bedroom, with white walls. The furniture is dark wooden, consisting of a queen-sized bed, a three-door wardrobe, and a desk with a chair. There’s a window above the desk, with red curtains, same red as the cover, which is decorated with golden motives.

“You really have a pattern, huh?” Sokka says, taking the room in. Zuko blushes.

“I like red.”

“I know. I’ve noticed.” He says, pointing to his sneakers. “My room is all blue and white too, you know? And so is Katara’s. They were my mother’s favorite colors.”

“You look good in blue.” Zuko says. Sokka winks at him, and Zuko blushes even harder, looking away. “My mom liked red. And pink, I guess. Everything Kiyi has is pink.”

“Kiyi is… your half-sister?”

“Yeah. My other sister’s name is Azula.” Zuko says, walking towards the bed and sitting there. He sighs.

“Do you miss them?” he asks.

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t really see Kiyi a lot. With her father being… not mine, and Mom not being here… but Azula and I. We always had fights, in a brother-sister way, you know how it is. But before coming here, it’s like our relationship got cold. Sometimes it felt like I was a stranger living under her roof.”

Sokka frowns and sits beside him. “You don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Zuko smiles, shaking his head. “I like talking to you, Sokka. Something happened before I came here, something I can’t talk about, but that was the trigger. And I hate it.”

Sokka puts his hand on top of Zuko’s. “Listen, Lee. I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure it was not your fault. I… think I know you, and even if it was your fault, I don’t think you did it on purpose. Just by listening to you talk about Azula, I’m sure nothing you’ve ever done had the objective to hurt her. Maybe annoy her, but all big brothers are like that. Believe me, I’d know.”

Zuko chuckles at that, turning his hand up behind Sokka’s to lace their fingers together. “Thanks, Sokka. You’re a great friend.” He says, not looking away from their hands.

Sokka smiles and nudges his shoulder. “I know. I’m here for you, okay buddy?”

Zuko nods. “Yeah. Okay. Same to you.” he looks up at Sokka, and blushes when he realizes how close they truly are. He slides a few centimeters away and clears his throat. “We should go to the kitchen. I’m sure my uncle needs help with dinner.”

“Oh, great. I love dinners!” Sokka says, standing up. His friend laughs and mimics him.

When Sokka gets back home, Bato is alone on the living room. Sokka squints a little to see what he’s watching, and gasps.

“Pops! You’re watching Property Brothers without me?”

Bato turns around to look at his stepson and raises an eyebrow. “It’s 2AM, Sokka. Where were you on a school night so late?”

Sokka groans, walking towards the couch, where he drops next to his parent. “I was at Zuko’s. His Uncle cooked us dinner. He made traditional dishes from… wherever they are from. They were spicy, Pops. Really spicy. I thought my tongue was going to burn out.” Bato laughs, running his hand down his cheek.

“I’m sure you’re exaggerating, So.”

“I’m not! Believe me, they were eating it like it was nothing, and there I was trying not to sweat my butt’s shape into the chair.”

Bato laughs louder and clasps the younger’s back. “Go drink some milk. I’ll rewind the episode so we can watch it together.”

“Not fair, Pops. You already know what’s going to happen.”

“I was only fifteen minutes in, So.”

Sokka groans, walking to the kitchen to get himself a glass of milk. When he’s back sitting beside his stepfather, Bato rewinds the episode.

“Hey, So?” he says. Sokka looks at him. “How is everything going with Zuko? You guys… alright?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, your father and I were talking, and we thought… Zuko is your first boyfriend and…”

“Pops! Stop!” Sokka interrupts him. “One, Zuko and I are not dating. Two, if we were, you’d know. Katara would have already told you, because she’s a tattletale. And three, you guys know I adore you two, but no, I don’t want your advice. Because we’d start with me asking you where to take him for dinner and end up with four boxes of condoms. Which I don’t need because we’re not dating.”

Bato smiles, nodding. “Okay. But you like him, don’t you?”

Sokka rolls his eyes, sipping from his cup. “Yeah.” he shrugs. Bato nudges his shoulder.

“Called it. You have great taste, he’s really handsome.”

“I know. I’ve seen him.” he says, blushing.

“And the scar looks badass.”

“I know!” Sokka says. “And his hair is really shiny, have you noticed?”

“Not really. There’s so much a photo can do. Maybe I should meet him.”

“Pops, I don’t know.”

“Bring him for dinner this weekend. We’ll show him _our_ traditional gastronomy.”

“I’ll drop it next time we talk. But it’s his choice.”

“Sure. Just tell him we’re really excited to meet him.”

“Pops. Stop.”

Bato laughs, putting his arm around Sokka’s shoulders. “Okay, son. I’m just kidding. But really. Dad and I really want to meet the guy you failed Design because of.”

Sokka widens his eyes, looking at his stepfather. “You guys know that?”

“You said it. Katara is a tattletale.”

Sokka groans. “I’ll kill her.”

Ten minutes later, a voice comes from upstairs. “Bato, if I come down and you’re watching Property Brothers with our son again, I’m going to kill both of you!”

Bato and Sokka look at each other, then gulp. Slowly, Sokka reaches for the remote control and turns down the TV.

“We should go to sleep.” Bato says.

“Yeah. Tomorrow is a long day.”

“For sure, for sure.” Bato says, nodding.

They both stay where they are.

“I’m not falling asleep until you both are in your beds, guys!” Hakoda says again.

“Okay, we’re coming!” Sokka replies.

“It’s 2AM! Shut the fuck up!” Katara yells, making Bato and Sokka look at each other again, and break out laughing.

That Sunday, while Bato and Hakoda cook dinner, Sokka walks up and down the kitchen.

“Will you stop, Sokka?” Katara begs him. “It’s just dinner.”

“Leave your brother be, Katara.” Hakoda says, turning back to look at his daughter. “He’s just nervous about us meeting him.”

“I wasn’t this nervous about you meeting Aang.” She says, rising her eyebrows.

Bato laughs, ruffling her hair. “You were twelve, Ka.”

“Yeah, no one thought it was going to go anywhere, you were kids.” Hakoda agrees.

“And here you are, still going strong after six years. I think I’m going to cry.” Bato dries a fake tear while Katara groans, and Hakoda clasps his shoulder.

“Anyway,” Sokka says, rolling his eyes. “it doesn’t matter you weren’t this nervous when Aang came home for the first time, because first of all, he came so you could tutor him in Biology, and second of all, Zuko is not my boyfriend.” He takes a deep breath and clasps his hands together. “Now, remember, what’s his name?”

“Lee.” The three other members of the family reply in a bored tone.

“And he is?”

“A waiter.”

“And what are we not going to talk about?”

“His family.”

“Great. You’re good to go.” He says, crossing his arms in his chest. “Don’t embarrass me in front of my friend, okay?” he points at them. His parents nod, and turn back to keep cooking, meanwhile Katara just rolls his eyes.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rings, and Sokka’s head snaps like a dog’s towards the noise. Katara laughs.

“Go on, get the door.” She says. Sokka frowns at her, then walks outside the kitchen and to the front door. When he opens it, though, instead of Zuko, it’s Aang on the other side.

“Howdy-doody!” he says. Sokka raises an eyebrow.

“Aang? What are you doing here?”

The younger smiles and shrugs. “Your dad invited me for dinner. He said Mushi’s nephew was coming too!”

Letting Aang inside, Sokka closes the door and walks with his friend to the kitchen, where the former greets the rest of the family with another ‘howdy-doody’. Then, he walks towards Katara and hugs her.

“What are we having?” he asks.

“Oh, we’re just seasoning some meat at the moment, but don’t worry, we have a veggie alternative for you!” Bato says. “Hakoda brought a new meat substitute the other day from work, and we think you’re going to love it. Sokka did.”

Sokka frowns. “I haven’t tried any meat substitute.”

Hakoda winks at Aang. “See?”

The younger kid laughs, while Sokka groans and rolls his eyes.

“Don’t mind my brother, sweetie.” Katara says. “He’s just nervous about Zuko meeting the family.”

“Oh, but that’s perfectly normal, Sokka!” Aang says. “When I first met you guys, I was super nervous too and-“

“It’s not the same!” Sokka interrupts him, throwing his arms to the sky.

“Not yelling in the house, So.” Bato says, not looking up from the meat he’s cutting.

“It’s just. I want him to have a good impression of us, okay? He’s kind of… my best friend,”

“Hey!” Aang interrupts, offended. Katara pats his arm.

“AND.” Sokka continues. “You guys know he comes from a rich family, and now he’s living pretty humbly, it’s true, but still…”

“You’re worried that he might think you’re not enough?” Katara frowns. “Sokka, if he thinks that…”

“No.” Sokka says. “Zuko is not like that. I know he’s not. But we’ve had a lot of conversations about a lot of things and from what he’s told me and the rumors we’ve all heard.”

“You’re worried his family thinks you’re not enough.” Aang says. Sokka nods.

“Oh, So.” Katara stands up from her seat to hug him. “Don’t worry. Ozai Feu is a stupid asshole anyway. All rich people are.”

Sokka laughs, kissing his sister’s cheek. Then, the doorbell rings again. Sokka untangles himself from the younger girl and walks to the door.

Zuko is on the other side, dressed in a black satin button down and wine-red pants. His hair is gelled back, and he looks like a deer caught in car lights.

Sokka is pretty sure he looks the same.

“Wow.” He says. Then he looks down at himself. He’s wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. He’s not even wearing shoes. It’s pure casualty he even brushed his hair and put it up in his usual wolftail. He looks back at his friend. “You look great.”

Zuko flushes a little and swallows before he speaks. “Thanks. You too.”

Sokka chuckles and shakes his head. “Although…” he mutters, raising his hand to ruffle Zuko’s hair, making his bangs fall on his forehead instead. “There. Much better.” He smiles. “Much more you.”

Zuko flushes to the points of his ears, so Sokka moves to his side to let him in. “You can take off your shoes if you want. Those are Aang’s shoes.” He says, pointing at the orange sneakers on the corner of the living room. “You can put them beside his.”

Zuko nods, and takes off his shoes, leaving them perfectly sitting beside Aang’s. Then, Sokka leads him to the kitchen.

“Hey, everyone.” He says. Everyone turns to look at them, pretending they hadn’t been eavesdropping their conversation. “This is my friend Lee.” He says. “These are Katara, my sister, and Aang, his boyfriend, whom you already know.” Zuko smiles and waves at them. “And these are my dad, Hakoda, and my stepdad, Bato.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.” Zuko says. Hakoda smiles, shaking the boy’s hand.

“An honor, huh? That’s nice, boy, but I’m not the President.”

Bato slaps his husband’s shoulder and shakes Zuko’s hand too. “Don’t listen to him, Lee. He likes messing around. Ask Aang, for instance.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Lee. Last time we didn’t talk much.” Katara says. Zuko smiles softly.

“Yeah. It’s nice to see you again too.”

“I saw you this morning, but it’s always nice seeing you.” Aang says. Zuko chuckles softly, then turns at Hakoda and Bato.

“I brought this for you.” he says, offering them a red box with dragons carved in it. “My uncle owns a tea shop and he chose their finest ones for you.”

Hakoda takes the box and nods. “Thank you, Lee. It’s very kind of you.” he says, putting the box in the kitchen table, from where Katara and Aang take it and start checking the tea leaves on it. “The food isn’t ready yet, so how about giving your friend a tour of the house first, Sokka?”

“Sure!” the boy says, taking Zuko by his wrist. “Come with, I’ll show you around.”

They exit the kitchen, and Sokka starts talking. “Well, here you go, this is the living room and you’ve already seen the kitchen. There’s a bathroom through that door, in case you need to go. Now, let’s go upstairs.” He says, climbing the stairs and dragging the dark-haired with him. “First door, another bathroom, because you know, Katara needs her girl stuff. Second door, Katara’s room. Nothing interesting there. Now to your right, my dad’s office and my parents bedroom. And finally, last door, the best thing: my bedroom.” They get inside the room. “Ta-da!” he says, standing in the middle with his arms in the air. “So? What do you think?”

“It’s… very you.” Zuko says, looking around.

Sokka’s room is mainly blue. It’s different shades of blue, but blue nonetheless. His walls, curtains, bed cover, lamp… Everything except his furniture, which is white. On the ceiling there are star stickers forming different constellations and a big moon painted on the middle. All his books and papers are thrown all over the desk in the right, and there’s a bunch of unfolded clothes on top of the chair. His shoes peek out from under the bed, and there’s a lemur plushie on top of the bed. But there’s something else what really catches Zuko’s attention: on the wall, right on top of the bed, big and bright yellow.

“Sokka.” He says. “Is that a One Direction poster?”

Sokka turns to look at his favorite thing in the world and smiles. “Yeah. They signed it themselves. I won it in a radio contest. It’s cool, huh?”

“I didn’t know you were a fan of them.”

“Are you kidding? They’re the best band in the world. You’ve listened to them, haven’t you?”

“I can’t say I haven’t. _Story of my life_ was a hit.” Zuko smiles.

“It’s a great song. But they have many others better than that one. I’ll make you a playlist!” Zuko frowns and nods.

“Alright… I’ll... I’ll be waiting, I guess.”

“You’ll see. It’s going to be legit.”

Zuko chuckles and shakes his head. Then he looks at the ceiling and points at the big moon in the middle.

“Who painted that?” he asks, turning to look at Sokka, who is opening his wardrobe and taking a navy blue out of it.

“Uh, Yue. She’s artsy, you know? And the moon was kind of our thing.” He says, taking his t-shirt off and putting on the blue shirt.

“Huh. That’s cute. That you had a thing with her. Did you also have a thing with Suki?”

Sokka smiles as he redoes his wolftail, messed up by his change of shirts. “Sure.” He answers, then sits on the bed with his legs crossed. “Her kicking my butt.”

Zuko chuckles, still looking around the room. There’s a framed picture on the nightstand. He picks it up: it shows Sokka, with his tongue out and his arm on a girl’s shoulders. Her hair is dyed white and she has bright blue eyes, which stand out against her dark skin. He turns to look at Sokka.

“This is Yue?” Sokka nods, standing up to take the picture from his hands, and puts it back on the nightstand.

“She’s pretty.” He says. Sokka sits back on the bed, taking the lemur plushie and running his hand down it.

“I’ve been told I have good taste on the people I date.” he says. Then, he pats the space beside him. “Sit with me?”

Zuko nods, sitting beside Sokka. He looks at the smiling Zuko in front of him and sighs. They stay silent for a few seconds, then Zuko talks again. “I didn’t know you had two dads.”

“Yeah, uh. It’s not something I tell a lot. You never know how people can react.”

Zuko nods. “Well, I’m okay with it. If you needed to know. More than okay.” Sokka smiles at him. “How long have they been married?”

“Uh. Since it was legalized. But they got together long before that. Maybe a year after my mother died, around when we moved here. You see, they had always been best friends before that, and I know that my dad will always be in love with my mother, but I’m so glad that Bato is in his life. And ours. He’s our legal dad, too, he adopted us when I was 15. And he’s helped my dad a lot, with everything about my mother.” Sokka looks at Zuko, whose eyebrows are knitted together as he looks at him. “I was too little to see it then, but he had severe depression because of it. It’s not that Bato cured it, but… he helped.”

“I understand.” He says, nodding. Sokka smiles.

“You know, you can hug me if you want.”

The dark haired widens his eyes and moves closer towards his friend, embracing his body. Sokka hugs him back, hiding his face on Zuko’s neck.

Someone clears their throat, causing them to break apart. On the hallway, Aang stands, his usual big smiles on his face.

“Hakoda made me come tell you dinner is ready when you are.” He says, not asking about the scene he just saw. “Sokka, I can’t believe you still have Momo!” he smiles, and he turns back to go back downstairs.

“Let’s go.” Sokka says, dropping the plushie back in the bed and taking Zuko by the wrist.

They go downstairs, where the rest of the family is already sitting on the table. Hakoda and Bato sit each in one of the extremes, and Katara and Aang sit one beside the other, leaving the other two empty seats in front of them. Sokka sits in front of his sister, near Hakoda; meanwhile Zuko sits in front of Aang, near Bato.

“We made traditional food from our hometown for you, Lee.” Bato says, offering him the plate. “Sokka told us in yours, you’re used to spicy food, so we tried to make dishes that were at least a little bit spicy.”

Zuko nods politely. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

“Oh, no worries.” Hakoda says. “We wanted to. It’s been a while since we got to cook something nice. Sokka won’t eat anything that isn’t meat, and Katara is going vegan, so it’s becoming a little difficult to make something all of us can eat.”

“I see.” Zuko replies, smiling softly.

“So, Lee.” Bato starts. Sokka stares at him, raising an eyebrow in warning. “Sokka tells us you’re enrolled at the same University they are, right?” Zuko nods. “What’s your degree?”

“History. I’ve always been interested in it.” He answers. Bato raises his eyebrows.

“Wow, that must be very complicated. And you’re on your last year?”

“Hopefully, yes.”

“What do you plan on doing next?” Katara asks, smiling. Sokka tries to melt her into a puddle with his eyes.

“I guess I’ll stay in the shop with my uncle, save enough money for a masters, and then I’ll try to find a teaching position.”

“His uncle owns my favorite tea shop.” Aang comments. “Toph and I go all the time. Mushi is great!”

Bato looks at Zuko. “You live with your uncle?” Sokka clears his throat loudly. Zuko looks at him.

“Are you okay?” he asks him, softly.

“Perfectly. Can you pass me the salt?” Zuko nods, reaching for the salt in front of him and handing it to his friend. Then, he looks at Bato.

“Yes. We’ve been living together for a few years now. He’s like a father to me.”

Bato nods, and opens his mouth to ask something else, but Hakoda is faster than him.

“Lee, are you done with exams?” Sokka looks at his dad and mouths a little ‘thank you’, to which the older man nods.

“Yeah, I finished yesterday, actually. I think I did good.”

“Of course you did good.” Sokka says, bumping his shoulder. “You’re a little genius.”

Katara kicks his brother under the table, making him look at her. She wiggles her eyebrows at him, but he rolls his eyes and looks at his guest.

“Are you liking the food?” Zuko smiles at him.

“Yes. It’s great, thank you.”

Sokka winks at him and turns back to his plate to continue eating. Bato takes the chance to start talking again.

“Lee.” The raven-haired boy looks at him. “You’ve been living here for, uh, six months?” he nods. “Are you and your uncle planning to stay?”

“Yes. My uncle is old now. He’s too tired to keep traveling around the country, so we’ve decided to stay here for good. That’s why he opened his tea shop. It’s… his last hurrah, you could say.”

“What did he do before the shop?” Aang asks.

Zuko gulps, looking down at his plate. “He… he was in the Army. Was a general. But… that was a long time ago.”

Sokka frowns at Aang, who has a surprised look on his face. He wasn’t expecting his question to have such a toll on Zuko, who fidgets wit his fork and keeps looking down on his plate, his bangs falling on his forehead. Sokka places his hand on his friend’s shoulder, rubbing his thumb on it.

“So, Aang.” Hakoda says, trying to get rid of uncomfortable silence. “How’s Gyatso?”

Aang smiles and starts talking to the rest of them about his adoptive father, while Sokka stays silent like Zuko, rubbing his shoulder and, eventually, holding his hand under the table.

After dinner, Zuko keeps fidgeting and he seems uncomfortable, so Sokka offers to walk him home. Bato, feeling guilty, lends Sokka the car so he can drive his friend back.

And Sokka knows, because Yue told him as soon as he got his license, that he looks hot on the driver seat. He got used to drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the gearshift, just so he could drive Yue everywhere and have her tell him how sexy she found it. he wonders if it has the same effect on Zuko. He drives slowly, with the windows down so they can feel the air on their hair. Zuko sits on his right, his arms crossed on his chest and his sight darkened. Sokka looks at him.

“Look, I don’t know what exactly hurt you, but I’m sorry. I told them not to ask you all that stuff, I know you don’t like talking about your family and…” Zuko interrupts him.

“My cousin was in the Army too. He died on a mission.” Sokka almost crashes the car. He was not expecting that. He recovers his control over the vehicle, and looks at Zuko for a second, who keeps looking to the front. “His name was Lu Ten. He was Uncle’s son. He was on a recognition mission, nothing dangerous, in theory, but there was an ambush and… he sacrificed himself to save his partner.”

“I’m so sorry, Lee.”

“I don’t even remember it. I was a kid. All I remember is my mom telling me about it, and a few days back, Uncle was back home. He was his only son. It broke him, and… I think he’s made his peace with it, but you never fully recover from that. I think it’s the same we feel about our mothers.” Sokka nods, not daring look at his friend. “Sometimes, he talks to me about him. And it hurts me, because he wants me to remember him, because Lu Ten loved me, he loved me a lot, apparently, but I can’t even remember his face. I try to picture him and all I can see is the portrait we have in our living room. I have no memories of him, nothing to hold onto.”

“Lee. That was not your fault. You were a kid.” Sokka says. “Do you think I have a lot of memories left of my mother? Well, I don’t. In my head, all I can picture when I think about her is an older Katara. And that sucks, because she was my mother, you know? I should have memories of her, but she left… she was gone so early, the only one I have is the day she left. Just her in that hospital bed, and Katara and I didn’t know what was happening, and Dad wouldn’t stop crying, and we had to leave with Bato that night, and the morning after… she wasn’t there. Not anymore. We didn’t even get the chance to say good-bye.”

Zuko turns to look at Sokka, who keeps driving forward. “Stop the car.” He demands.

“What?” Sokka says, turning to look at him.

“You’re crying. You’re not feeling well. Just park, we can talk a little and then we’ll continue, okay?”

Sokka nods, wiping his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt and parking in the next spot available. He stops the car and leans back on the seat. “You know, when Bato offered the car I said yes because I wanted you to see me driving and think I was cool.” Zuko chuckles.

“I’ll always think you’re cool, Sokka. Even if we’re crying about our dead family.” Sokka smiles, looking at him. Then he nods. “Do you want to keep going?”

Sokka stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then he takes a breath in. “Did you know my Dad didn’t want Katara and I to know he was dating Bato?”

“He thought you were going to believe he was replacing your mom?” Sokka nods.

“Yeah. Apparently, he watched much more TV than we thought.” Zuko laughs. “But it was okay. We always loved Bato. When he moved in was one of the best days of my life, no kidding.”

“He looks like he loves you three a lot.”

Sokka nods. “He does. And we love him. I miss my mother a lot, or at least the idea of her, but when I get like this… I know she’s watching us from wherever she is now and she’s happy that we’re still a family. I know she’s happy that Bato is in our lives.” He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t be bragging about this with everything that happened with your mom.”

Zuko sighs, and he turns his body towards his friend. “Sokka, if I did something you hate, you’d tell me, right? You wouldn’t just let me do it because you think it’d make me happy.”

Sokka looks at him, lifting one of his eyebrows. “Yeah, of course. Why do you…”

Then he’s interrupted by a pair of lips on his. His eyes widen in surprise, and then close when he realizes Zuko is kissing him. It’s nothing intense or passionate, just lips on top of lips, and Zuko moves back five seconds later, but Sokka is faster than him, and grabs him by the collar of his black shirt and moves him closer to him, kissing him again. Zuko’s hands move towards his hair and undo his wolftail, tugging at it. Sokka wrinkles his nose and breaks apart.

“Listen, buddy, you probably shouldn’t do that right now.” He says. Zuko blushes and moves back, his hands staying on Sokka’s shoulders. Sokka is smiling silly. “I can’t believe _you_ kissed _me_.” He says, and pecks his friend’s lips.

“Uh, I wanted to make you feel better.” Zuko whispers.

“You succeeded. Like, a hundred percent. Well done, pal.”

Zuko clears his throat, and sits straight on his seat, looking at the front. Sokka smiles, looking at him. His cheeks are still blushed and his lips are wet with their saliva, making them look shiny and pink and Sokka can’t wait to kiss them again, so he grabs Zuko’s chin and turns his face so they’re in front of each other again; and kisses him again, but then Zuko pushes him away.

Sokka frowns. “Sorry, did I do something wrong?”

“No. No, Sokka, you didn’t.” Zuko sighs, running his hands through his hair. “We need to talk.”

“We just kissed and we’re already breaking up?” he jokes. Zuko doesn’t answer, just looks at him serious. “Sorry. Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“I… need to tell you something.” He sighs. “Please, don’t hate me.”

“Believe me, Lee. I couldn’t hate you if I tried.”

Zuko gulps, looking down at his palms. Then, he mutters: “I’m not who you think are.”

Sokka raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“I’m not who you think I am, Sokka. And I need to tell you now, because if we’re going to do this, if we’re going to start this, you need to know the truth, and I’m sorry I’ve been lying to you for weeks and I came into your house and told everyone a lie about who I am and I’m so sorry but…”

“Zuko.” Sokka stops him. Zuko’s eyes widen. “I’ve known who you are all this time. Katara recognized you in the library. But you introduced yourself as Lee, and I didn’t make any big deal of it because at first I didn’t think I was going to like you – ironies of life, look where we’re at now; but then we became friends and I wanted to give you your space and time to tell the truth on your own terms. I mean, if you’re faking it, there must be a reason why. And I respect that.”

“You knew?” Zuko simply asks.

“We all did, handsome.” Sokka smiles. Zuko stays silent for a while. “Are you mad?”

“No. Not at you. I just didn’t know I was such an idiot.”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “You’re an idiot alright. Now can we get back to the kissing, please? I was quite enjoying that. And the back of the car is spacious enough for us both.” He wiggles his eyebrows. Zuko blushes even harder, then shakes his head.

“I have something else I want to say.” Sokka nods. “You told me about your mother. I want to tell you about my father.”

“Zuko, no…”

Zuko shakes his head. “I told you. If we’re going to do this, I want you to know.”

“Fine. But don’t do it because you feel you have to.”

“I’m not.” Sokka nods, then takes one of his hands and laces their fingers together.

“You know my family, no? Who they are, I mean.” Sokka nods. “Uncle was supposed to inherit my grandfather’s businesses, but after Lu Ten died… he told him he didn’t want to anymore. His view on life had changed. He didn’t care about money or luxuries anymore. He had lost what he loved the most, and no money in the world was going to bring it back. So my father stepped in. He was never a good dad, in a way that he was not caring. I do believe he fell in love with my mother at some point, and my sister and I were produce of that love, but when he actually had to act the role of a father, he found out he didn’t like it. He buried himself in work, we never saw him anymore… when he came home from work, Azula and I would already be in bed. At some point, the businesses had a crisis, and he started drinking. He thought he was going to lose everything. Obviously, he didn’t, but he still had that addiction. When I was ten, he sent away my mother. He didn’t want her around anymore, there were other women younger and more beautiful for him, he said. My mother wanted us to go with her, but he said if she dared take us away, he’d never leave her alone. He was much more powerful than her, obviously. Like I told you that other time, when I was thirteen, and Azula eleven, we found out she had remarried and had Kiyi, our half-sister. And died. We wanted to meet her, and her father. Ozai didn’t let us. He sent me to a boarding school that fall. I’d only see Azula on Christmas and summers, that’s why our relationship changed. We had turned into strangers.” Zuko sighs, so Sokka runs his thumb through the back of his hand. “Anyway, on the summer when I was sixteen, I stood up to him. I told him I didn’t want to go back to that school. I wanted to stay home with my sister, I didn’t want her to keep growing up without me. I chose the worst night to do it. He was drunk and mad because of something one of his businesses was going through so…” he shakes his head, then points at his scar. “He gave me a reminder to never stand up to him again.”

“He did that?” Sokka asks. Zuko nods. “Fuck, babe. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t do it. It’s him who should feel sorry about it, but he doesn’t, not even a bit.”

“If I ever run into him…”

“Don’t worry. You won’t. There’s more.” Sokka nods. “I spent the rest of that summer with my uncle after that. I was too scared to go back to that house, to him. Azula didn’t even want to see me. She said I was a disgrace to the family. The only company I had were my uncle, the nurse he hired to take care of my scar, and Mai, who’d come over behind Azula’s back. After I healed, my father called me to his office. I thought he was going to tell me he was sorry. I was young and naïve. Instead of that, he told me I was not going back to the boarding school, not because that was what I wanted, but because he wanted me out of his house. I was not his son anymore. I could stay with my uncle, if I loved him so much. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Zuko…” Sokka says, stretching his arm to wipe Zuko’s tears from his left cheek. “I’m so sorry.” Zuko shakes his head and holds Sokka’s wrist.

“It’s fine, really.”

“What about your sisters?”

“Well, after a few attempts, I got to talk to my mother’s husband, and I went to see him and Kiyi. Azula came too. She was seventeen by then. We talked about everything, and she had realized our dad had done her as much damage at he had done me. She doesn’t live with him anymore either. She left with her girlfriend, Ty Lee. And Mai.”

Sokka raises an eyebrow. “Huh. That’s… great. Is Mai also…?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I never asked.”

“Huh.”

“So. Yeah, that’s it. The sad story of Zuko Feu.” He shrugs. Sokka smiles and pecks his lips.

“Thank you for telling me. I know it wasn’t pleasant.”

Zuko nods. “Yeah. It’s better now, though. It took a lot of time to heal, but I’m better now. You would have hated meeting me at sixteen. I was so angry all the time because of my dad, if we had met at the library like we did, I would have kicked your face.”

“I was a dummy at fifteen, so I think it’s fair we met when we did.” Sokka laughs. He looks at Zuko, who is smiling at him. “You know, Zuko, I really like you.”

“That’s great. I really like you too.”

“And like, every one of my acquaintances already thinks we were dating. That’s why you and Aang came to dinner tonight.”

Zuko smiles. “Uncle thinks so too, so all of my acquaintances think so too. Oh! His name is not Mushi, by the way. It’s Iroh.”

Sokka laughs. “Yeah, what’s with the fake identities anyway?”

“Well, we’re celebrities, Sokka. We have to hide from the paparazzi.”

Sokka rolls his eyes, shaking his head. He turns to the front of the car and starts it again.

“It’s getting late. Let’s get you home, handsome.”

Zuko nods, smiling as he puts his seatbelt back on. “Okay. Will you stay the night?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

_Bonus Scene #1_

A few months later, once Zuko has already graduated and he’s getting more comfortable around Sokka’s family – enough to spend at least one night a week there – they’re cuddling in bed, and Zuko is telling Sokka about something that happened that day in the shop, when Sokka interrupts him, kisses him, and says, in the softest voice ever:

“I really like your voice.”

Zuko smiles, nudging Sokka’s nose with his, making him smile silly. “You do?”

“Yeah. It’s raspy, but also soft. I don’t know. Maybe I just really like you.”

Zuko chuckles, kissing him again. “You’re lucky, since I like you too.”

“Tui and La, I might’ve won the lottery then.”

Zuko bites his lower lip, making Sokka whimper.

“Dooooon’t. Katara is one room away, she could listen.” He complains.

“Yeah, sorry, sorry. It’s just, you growing that beard and saying that stuff…”

Sokka gives him a cocky smile.

“You like my beard, huh?”

“I love it. I can’t wait until it’s fully grown.”

“You should try growing one too.” Zuko shakes his head.

“Nah. Why would I want to hide my sharp jaw?” Sokka rolls his eyes and kisses his jaw.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t want to lose this.” He whispers, sending a shiver down Zuko’s spine. “Oh, by the way! Remember that playlist I told you I’d make for you when you came over for the first time?”

“The One Direction one?”

“Yes. I’ve finished it. Do you want to listen to it?”

“You’re going to make me even if I don’t want to, right?” Sokka smiles, nodding. “You’re so lucky I love you so much. And that you look cute with your hair down.”

Sokka smiles and kisses him. “I love you too. And I always look cute!” he turns to take his phone and opens his music app, pressing play on the playlist. “I named it _Zukka_. That’s a mix of our names. Isn’t it cool?”

Zuko chuckles, nodding. “Sure, babe. It’s really cool.”

Sokka smiles, going back between Zuko’s arms, who runs his fingers up and down his back, as the first notes of _Up All Night_ start playing.

_Bonus Scene #2_

“I can’t believe it’s our anniversary and we’re spending it with your ex-girlfriend.” Sokka groans. Zuko chuckles.

“We’re spending it with my sister, Sokka.” He says.

“Like that’s any better!” he groans.

“Don’t be selfish, babe. We’re with your sister all the time!”

“It’s different, babe. We wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for her.” Zuko rolls his eyes, dropping Sokka’s hand. “Hey, no, hold my hand!”

The older boy shakes his head, sticking his tongue out at him as he keeps walking. Sokka pouts, following him.

Finally, they reach the Jasmine Dragon, which is empty, except for a table with four people on it.

One of them is Iroh, of course; and then three girls. Sokka recognizes Azula from the pictures Zuko has shown him. Plus, her dark hair and golden eyes match his brother’s perfectly. She smiles at her uncle, who’s telling them a story from his youth. Her hair is half up on a bun and she has a leg on top of the other, wearing a black denim skirt and a red tank top with combat boots. Sokka realizes she reminds him a little of Suki.

She’s holding hands with a girl with a long braid, who looks at Iroh with shiny eyes, seemingly excited about the story. Sokka is pretty sure it’s Ty Lee. Contrary to Azula, she wears a white dress tied up behind her neck, and white Converse sneakers. Sokka notices she’s really fit, and he has a vague memory of Zuko mentioning that she was a gymnast – which totally makes sense.

The last girl is obviously Mai, Zuko’s ex. She has bangs and her hair up in two buns. She sports a small smile, but her eyes seem bored. According to Zuko, she’s not actually bored. It’s just her resting face. She’s wearing a black flowy dress and a burgundy kimono on top of it. Sokka doesn’t know Zuko’s type on girls, but he’s pretty sure she’s it.

When they cross the front door, Azula turns at the sound of the bell, a smile on her face. “Zuzu!” she says. Zuko blushes a little as his sister reaches him to hug him.

“Hey, Azula.” He says, kissing her head. He can rest his chin on her head, even with her boots, which Sokka finds extremely cute.

“It’s been so long. I missed you.” she says when they break apart. Then, she looks at Sokka and raises her eyebrow, smiling wickedly. “So, this is Sock?”

Zuko sighs. “Azula, you know that’s not his name.”

“And I’d rather if you don’t call me that, thank you very much.”

Azula laughs. “He’s feisty. I like him.”

“Zuko!” Ty Lee exclaims, hugging him. Zuko chuckles as he hugs him back.

“Hey, Ty Lee. I’m happy to see you’re still the same.”

“I’m happy to see you’re not.” She smiles, breaking apart from him. Zuko smiles back at her and nods.

“Yeah. Thank Sokka for that.”

“Oh, please.” Sokka says, waving away.

“Hey, Zuko.” Mai’s voice carries from behind Azula. She hugs him, and Zuko looks at Sokka. He shrugs, so Zuko hugs her back. “It’s nice to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too, Mai.”

Then, Mai slaps him across the face. Sokka’s eyes widen, not knowing what to do.

“Next time you break up with someone, don’t do it over text, jerk.” She rolls her eyes.

Zuko stares at her, rubbing the spot where she slapped him. “Okay. I deserved that one. I’m sorry, Mai.”

“Water under the bridge.” She says, turning back to sit back on her chair. The other girls mimic her.

Sokka, instead, looks at his boyfriend. “You okay? Need some ice?”

“Yeah. She’s stronger than I remembered.” He mutters. Sokka laughs.

“Well, then, good luck you’re not breaking up with anyone anytime soon.” He says as he kisses the cheek where she slapped him.

Zuko smiles at him. “Are you going to break my heart?”

“I’m not planning on it. And I’m not letting you break mine, so you’re trapped here until you die, handsome.”

The older puts his arm around him and kisses his cheek. “Let’s go get that ice.”

Moments later, the six of them sit on the table, chatting about their lives since they saw each other, when Ty Lee looks between the two boys and makes everyone shut up.

“I need to make sure.” She says. “What sign are you, Sokka?”

“Uh. Leo. Why?” he replies.

“And Zuko’s an Aquarius, right?” Zuko nods. “Phew. Thank God. Imagine if you were, I don’t know, a Taurus. Or a Scorpio.” She shudders. Zuko and Sokka look at each other, confused. Azula smiles and takes Ty Lee’s hand.

“You’re right, honey. It would have been a catastrophe.” Ty Lee nods. “Anyway, Zuko, why did you call us here? You have all your numbers, you could have created a groupchat.”

“Yes, but the thing is… it was much more important than that.”

Mai raises an eyebrow. “Sokka’s not pregnant, is he?”

Everyone looks at her, frowning. She shrugs.

Zuko shakes his head. He looks at Sokka, who smiles and nods, then looks at his sister-in-law.

“Azula. Would you like to be our maid of honor?”

**Author's Note:**

> i actually made zukka's playlist; here you have it if you want to listen to it: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7gBzk8AOhzfgb8CFKdmtGu?si=H5atS0bbRWaqeiRW4m-Vkg
> 
> if you reached this point, well, i hope you liked it! this is the first time i ever write anything atla related, so i can't help but think they might be a little ooc. It'll get better, eventually. I hope.  
> keep up with me on my twitter: @g0ldenzuko :)


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